Dutch Blitz Build 2011
Another Habitat house will be built in just a week with the help of 16 volunteers from Holland
Sixteen volunteers from Holland arrived in Beiuş on Saturday evening to build a house together with the Sere family in just one week. The first day on site was Monday, when the 16 volunteers took the work tools, their hardhats and under the supervision of the Habitat Beiuş construction staff started work. After the first day the structure of the home was already in its feet and then on the second day the roof and thermal insulation was finished. The enthusiasm of the volunteers was high, while the beneficiaries couldn’t believe that in just two days the construction already had the form of a house.
“I didn’t expect that we would progress so much in such a short time. It makes me happy as I see the joy on the faces of the family who have been working side by side with us. I knew it would be good, but I didn’t expect that it would be such a beautiful experience”, said Inge, volunteer from Holland.
The Sere family, Nicusor, Catiţa and Cătălin (11 yrs old), have been living for 14 years in a 20m2 studio apartment in a block for the past 14 years. The conditions are improper for a single person let alone a family. The communal toilets are at the end of the hallway and the same goes for the showers which haven’t been working for years. During the summer it gets very hot as the walls are thin and aren’t insulated and then in winter it gets very cold as the heating stove can’t keep it warm once the fire goes out.
“It’s very difficult to live here, but we don’t have anywhere else to go and we’re unable to build something by ourselves with the small incomes that we have. There are lots of thing that we’re lacking here, other than the lack of space. What we miss most is having a bathroom. We currently take it in turns to wash in the wash basin and this is very difficult with a child in the family, it’s something unimaginable for someone who’s not experienced it themselves,” said Catiţa.
The volunteers came to Beiuş through the Habitat for Humanity Netherlands office which recruits teams of volunteers to help needy families around the world. Annually, they send around 25 teams build homes of which 2 or 3 come to Romania. This is the case of the team that jumped at the occasion to help the Sere family after finding out about them through HFH Beiuş.
“Seventy-five percent of our teams come from companies while the rest are from churches, international schools or families who are celebrating an anniversary together with friends. In this case, it’s the consulting company Dutch which has 80 employees of which the majority have been involved in projects like this one”, said Mirjam Pronk, team leader and volunteer coordinator of HFH Netherlands.
The house dedication ceremony will take place in Friday 27th May at 1pm in Beius. Habitat invites everyone who wishes to come and share this important moment with Nicuşor, Catiţa and Cătălin.
